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32 out of 33 people found the following comment useful :-
"Distinct Tendencies Towards Terpsichorean Excellence", 14 March 1999
Author: Michael Coy (michael.coy@virgin.net) from London, England

Guy Holden, the celebrated stage dance star, is touring Europe on vacation. Mimi Glossop is a rich American living in London and is currently in the throes of a divorce. They meet, they dance, they fall in love.

Ginger Rogers was by far the bigger cinema star when RKO Radio teamed her with Fred. She had appeared in 34 films to his 3, and two in the previous year had been smash hits - "Golddiggers" and "42nd Street". This loose borrowing from Cole Porter's Broadway show contains only one of the master's songs, the immortal "Night And Day", and only four other songs in the entire movie - Conrad & Magidson's "Needle In A Haystack" and "The Continental", and Gordon & Revel's "Don't Let It Bother You" and "Let's K-nock K-nees" (featuring an 18-year-old Betty Grable, who had herself featured in no less than eight films in the previous year).

At the depth of the Depression, this sort of film was all the rage - a fantasy of carefree opulence and ease, set in a world of Parisian floorshows, ocean liners and tuxedos. The wit is sharp and the mood flirtatious. What if the film-makers hadn't the first clue about how an English barrister conducts his cases? This is about romance, not professional ethics. What if the terrain of Brighton isn't an igneous intrusion, but in fact a sedimentary accretion? This is about two people's sublime dancing, not geology.

Fred is as always the quintessence of style, a naturally elegant creature, and Ginger is gorgeous. The plot is very well constructed, containing all the misunderstandings associated with musical farce, but developing them with panache. The denouement is both neat and unexpected. There are plenty of girls dancing in the usual geometric patterns, but there is also abundant creativity in the choreography - the playful steps in "The Continental", for example, or Fred's reluctant dance for his supper. Mimi is trying to resist Guy, and has to be drawn into "Night And Day" against her will - an instance of character being expressed through dance. Max Steiner's arrangement of this number is glorious, with its 'tacit', and the swelling fortissimos, and a dainty countermelody in the strings. Ginger sings "The Continental" like an angel, nicely ragging the time.

Inconsequential? No doubt. Frothy? Certainly. A joy to watch? Definitely!

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24 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Fred and Ginger, 1 February 2005

Author: jotix100 from New York

After hearing Fred Astaire put his stamp in a song, it's hard to imagine anyone else attempting to improve in what seems to be the definite rendition of it. That is the case when Mr. Astaire sings Cole Porter's elegant "Night and Day". In pairing Ginger Rogers with Mr. Astaire, Hollywood hit the jackpot as it produced a winning combination that went from film to film with such ease and panache, it will never be imitated.

Mark Sandrich worked with Ms. Rogers and Mr. Astaire in several movies. Somehow, "The Gay Divorcée" is one of their best collaboration. This film is a lot of fun to watch, even after more than 70 years after it was made. It speaks volumes for all the people involved in the production of this movie.

The Great Depression was the right background when movies like this were made. In a way, it was an escape from the harsh realities of the times America was going through. The public went to the movies to see their favorite stars that were shown in such a glamorous roles. How could anyone not admire the great Fred Astaire, always impeccably dressed? Or how could not any woman in the theater envy Ms. Rogers's beauty and easy grace? That era made it right for Hollywood to show the world a sensitivity and sophistication that only few rich types were able to enjoy in real life, while the rest was trying to eke out a life of whatever work they could find.

The musical numbers are amazing. "The Continental" alone, must have blown the budget of the picture. Imagine how much it would cost today to have all those dancers in a sound stage! Not only that, but in that lengthy number, there are at least four changes of costumes for the women. Also, he is delightful singing "Looking for a Needle in a Haystack". A young and radiant Betty Grable makes an appearance singing "Let's K-knock K-knees" in which she shows a bit of her enormous charm and talent.

Ginger Rogers makes a gorgeous Mimmi Glassop. Alice Brady, is perfect as the dizzy Aunt Hortense. Edward Everett Horton plays an excellent Egbert Fitzgerald, the divorce lawyer. Erik Rhodes is one of the best things in the film; his Signor Tonetti injects a funny shot into the movie. Eric Blore, as the waiter, has great moments in the movie.

In setting the film in London and Brighton, a rich texture is added to this winning picture that will remain a favorite that will live forever because of the chemistry that Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire produced in anything they did together.

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16 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
It's "whumsical", 16 November 2001
Author: Bucs1960 from West Virginia

Quoting the Eric Blore/Alice Brady interchange in the restaurant, this movie is indeed whimsical (or "whumsical") and beautiful to boot. There probably has never been a more perfect dance than "Night and Day"....or a more beautiful song to dance to. That is the highlight of this film, although the rest of it is well worth seeing. Erik Rhodes is absolutely hilarious as the paid correspondent and the humor is not dated which is unusual in a film of this age. The "Chance is a fool's name for fate" routine is priceless. Edward Everett Horton again proves that he is the originator of the befuddled sidekick without being irritating and his little "dance" with a very young Betty Grable is such fun The art deco sets and great 30's clothes are wonderful and it makes you wish for a time when everybody wore evening dress and danced at the drop of a hat. Don't miss it...this is one of the highlight Astaire/Rogers efforts.

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16 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
High point of Astaire and Rogers, 22 January 2000
Author: Minty-5 from Sydney, Australia

Fred and Ginger, two perfect partners, two of the best dancers in history. In 1934, the toast of RKO. What a great pair the studio that would become defunct in a matter of years had on their hands!

In 1933, the pair had proven themselves as second leads in "Flying Down to Rio", a musical heavily relying on special effects and little else. They stole the show, proven with "The Carioca", the erotically charged dance number which started an American craze of pressing foreheads and even got the Best Song Oscar nod over the supposed show stopping title song. Before, Ginger had "42nd Street" to her name, while Fred had the famous screen test analysis of "Can't sing. Can't act. Can dance a little."

"The Gay Divorcee" is the establishing musical of Astaire and Rogers. Silly, dated, slight, even stupid to a certain degree is the entire story. Without a doubt, high comedy and immense creativity make up for it. The mistaken identity plot was recycled for "Top Hat" the following year, but it hardly matters. It is littered entirely with hilarity! Writing was never the strongest point of these musicals anyway. The performances were not Oscar calibre but they were publicly loved, and it's obviously Astaire and Roger's singing, acting and most of all, dancing, that makes the movie what it is.

A top wealth of talent was assembled for the movie. Erik Rhodes is absolutely side splitting as the Italian guy Tonetti, wielding the fabulous line, "Your wife is safe with Tonetti, he prefers spaghetti!". Alice Brady is there as Aunt Hortense, but Edward Everett Horton is another stand out performer as the lawyer. His fumbling voice provides a character of clumsiness and two seem to go hand in hand. He was definitely one of the best supporting comedians of the 1930s and 1940s, in other Astaire and Rogers musicals, and movies like "Lost Horizon", "Holiday", "Here Comes Mr Jordan" and "Arsenic and Old Lace".

Only one song was retained for the filmic version of "The Gay Divorcee". The censors even crashed down on the stage's original title "The Gay Divorce". Fred performs a great rendition of the immortal Cole Porter song "Night and Day". "The Continental", the Best Song of 1934 is thrown there in the mix too. Other great numbers in there include "Looking for a needle in a haystack", "Don't Let it Bother You" and "Let's K-nock- K-nees". The latter is performed by a young Betty Grable. This is notable for the only time Edward Everett Horton sings and dances on screen. We can see from the results there's an obvious reason.

The stylish period of courtship and even set decoration and costumes evoke great memories of eras gone by. RKO hasn't helped preservation of these technical elements by throwing what always appears to be mediocre sets, but it doesn't matter anyway. The whole thing is irresistible, spectacular and unforgettable. This is one of the forgotten musicals of the time which has it all.

Rating: 8/10

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15 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
The Continental!, 20 August 2004
Author: didi-5 from United Kingdom

The superb Fred and Ginger series always ended with a big, big set piece where the two of them could dance, and 'The Gay Divorce(e)' is no exception. This time it is 'The Continental', which allows half of what passes for Brighton to join in the dance.

Not the most original of plots, this movie teamed the leads together for the second time (the first time they led the cast though). Both are terrific, and Fred's dancing throughout is a treat. Ginger is her usual bouncy self, all wisecracks and big eyes, and good on her feet. They're ably supported by Edward Everett Horton (as 'Aunt' Egbert), Alice Brady (the towering matriach, Rogers' aunt), Eric Blore (as an irritating waiter who likes talking about rocks and playing with words), Erik Rhodes (as a daft Italian), and Betty Grable (as a hotel guest who has a terrific number with Horton, 'Let's K-knock K-knees').

As you might guess, the story revolves around a divorce, which might be a gay one (in the 1930s definition of the word, of course), and, as so often in this series, mistaken identities. Tiny roles go to William Austin (as Rogers' blustering geologist hubby), and Lilian Miles (an Alice Faye lookalike who gets to reprise 'The Continental' all to herself).

This is one of the better entries in the series, ably directed by Mark Sandrich, and featuring a mix of songs including Cole Porter's 'Night and Day', and the jaunty 'Looking for a Needle in a Haystack'.

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14 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Sensational, 29 January 2004

Author: rick_7 from Harrogate, England

Following an apparently accidental teaming in 1933's Flying Down to Rio (a fun Dolores Del Rio vehicle), Fred and Ginger got their first starring feature a year later. It was based on J. Hartley Manners' play 'The Gay Divorce'. The Hays Office insisted on shoving an 'e' on the end, for how could a divorce be so trifling as to be gay? Some UK prints still run with the original title. RKO assembled a sparkling ensemble cast of top-flight farceurs, bringing together (in ascending order of sublimity) Eric Blore, Edward Everett Horton and Erik Rhodes ("Are you a union man?"). Mark Sandrich directs the thing with a maximum of fuss and style. Hermes Pan helped Fred choreograph the numbers.

The plot is suitably - and delightfully - trivial. Musical star Guy Holden (Fred) happens upon a girl (Ginger), falls desperately in love with her, then spends the rest of the picture trying to free himself from marvellously silly plot threads and Everett Horton's exquisite quadruple-takes.

Keeping just one song from Cole Porter's original score, the timeless 'Night and Day', and adding only four others, The Gay Divorcée is more a comedy with songs than it is a musical comedy. But what comedy - and what songs! 'Looking For a Needle in a Haystack' is a masterpiece of economy: Fred a whirlwind of frustrated, lovestruck energy as he spins around his hotel room lamenting his missing love in peerless style. "Men don't pine," he memorably concludes, "Women pine. Men ... suffer." Everett Horton's rare excursion into song-and-dance territory is a breath of hysterical, liberating ludicrousness, as he knocks knees with a young Betty Grable. 'Don't Let It Bother You', performed by a chorus of dancing girls (and dolls), then spectacularly reprised by a tapping Astaire, is another treat. 'The Continental', the film's vast production number is peculiarly edited but sporadically fine and offers a fitting climax.

It's exceptional fluff, the sort of heady, heightened escapism that you don't come close to very often. An extravagantly mounted, joyous comedy played to perfection by two stars at their irresistible peak. Unmissable.

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14 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Sublime dancing, hilarious comedy, Art Deco time capsule, 5 June 1999

Author: jacksflicks from Hollywood

It's astounding that this all-time classic doesn't get a better average score.

Nureyev said Astaire was the greatest dancer in the world, and Astaire is at his best here with his best partner, Ginger Rogers. No need to elaborate, just watch them in action.

Erik Rhodes should have got Best Supporting Oscar. He was also wonderful in Top Hat, but it's here he gets to say the immortal line, "Your wife is safe with Tonetti, he prefers spaghetti."

The clothes and the decor evoke an ideal of courtship as aesthetic rather than as rutting, as it is today. Elegance, grace and wit give even the silliest scenes more dignity than anything, fatuous "talents" can concoct today.

Some call the plot banal, but I think it's funny and inventive. Sure it's mistaken identity, which is indeed a cliché, but so what? It's what they do with it that matters. A professional co-respondent??? Of course it's silly but Hey, that's what farce is. And this musical farce is one of the very best.

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10 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Fred & Ginger's first starring role as a team, 5 April 2006

Author: blanche-2 from United States

After their hit dancing of the "Carioca" in "Flying Down the Rio," RKO gave the teaming of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers a star role in "The Gay Divorcée" in 1934. With few exceptions, the plots of the Fred-Ginger films were excuses to get to the important part - the dancing - but the story lines were always pleasant and the casting good. "The Gay Divorcée" was based on a Broadway musical (of which the only number retained is "Night and Day") and it appears that a few of its plot devices were adopted in later Astaire-Rogers films as well. One such plot device is that of mistaken identity. In this movie, Astaire (reprising his Broadway role) is mistaken for a professional correspondent hired to help Rogers get her divorce. Another device is that at first, Ginger is never interested in Fred - that goes here, too. And there's a stock cast in these films, namely, Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore (and of course, he's always the butler and always very funny). Horton plays Rogers' attorney whose major problem is Rogers' aunt (Alice Brady).

What can be said about the dancing except that it's glorious? Fred and Ginger dance to "Night and Day" after Astaire sings it to her. For a supposed non-singer, Astaire could really put over a song - his voice is pleasant and he's so musical - no wonder composers wrote songs for him. Ginger is beautiful and spunky as Mimi, a young woman ducking Fred while she's trying to get a divorce. Betty Grable has a bit that showcases her in the number "Let's K-knock Kneez." There's also "I'm Looking for a Needle in a Haystack" delightfully sung and danced by Fred. Astaire's dancing is fantastic throughout.

It feels as if about half the picture is taken up with the elaborately staged production number, "The Continental." In later films, of course, the dancing would center more around Fred and Ginger, but it's a great part of the movie and certainly solidified these two as a top box office pairing.

For pure enjoyment, there's nothing like watching Astaire & Rogers in these movies.

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Divorce-Continental Style, 20 September 2002
Author: lugonian from Kissimmee, Florida

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

THE GAY DIVORCEE (RKO Radio, 1934), directed by Mark Sandrich, reunites the supporting young couple who supplied the "comedy relief" and very little dancing to the previous year's success of FLYING DOWN TO RIO (RKO, 1933). The couple in question are Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. With this being their first starring film musical as a team, in reality, they are virtually supporting players, this time supporting the supporting character actors who seem to have more screen time than the stars themselves. Even several production numbers are performed by others, but Astaire does manage to get at least one big solo spotlight to himself before doing his couple of twists and turns with Rogers. However, this doesn't take away from the chemistry they have, making this the movie that would set the pattern for the future films that were to follow.

The plot centers upon two friends, Guy Holden (Fred Astaire), a famous American dancer, traveling with his friend, Egbert Fitzgerald (Edward Everett Horton), an attorney. After a brief stay in Paris they head for London by boat where Egbert finds himself having to fill in for his attorney father while he's away in Scotland, and to do nothing else in his office but just sit. As for Guy, he encounters Mimi Glossop (Ginger Rogers), who, while going through customs, has gotten her dress caught in the trunk, compliments of her bewildered society matron aunt, Hortense Ditherwell (Alice Brady), while repacking her belongings. After Guy frees her by accidently ripping her dress, he loans her his raincoat to cover up her embarrassment, leaving her his calling card to where to return it, in hope to actually see more of her. Later, Hortense has her unhappily married niece, Mimi, seek divorce proceedings with the help of her good friend, Egbert (who was almost Hortense's first husband some years back, and is now a divorcee herself with three ex-husbands). Hoping to get in good with his father, Egbert agrees to take the case and decides to hire a gigolo, Rodolfo Tonetti (Erik Rhodes), to act as Mimi's lover in order to have her geologist husband, Cyril (William Austin) "catch them in the act" and agree to a divorce. But before Tonetti accepts the job as a hired correspondent, and not having a clue to whom Egbert's client is and what she looks like, he is given a password by Egbert to give to Mimi, the password being "Chance is the fool's name for fate." Mimi is aware of the secret password but it is Tonetti who never seems to get it right, nor anything else for that matter. Later when Mimi meets up with Guy Holden once again, Guy uses the password sentence in conversation, which, in reality, was a line from one of his last shows. Stunned that the man she's been trying to avoid to be the one working for her attorney, reluctedly invites Guy to come her hotel room at midnight. The confused Guy accepts the invitation, but matters get more complicated when Tonetti arrives also, with Mimi having to entertain and keep two men in her boudoir before her husband's arrival the following morning.

A drawing room farce if ever there was one, sometimes amusing, often silly, with this being typical of 1930s musicals. While essentially a filmed staged play, THE GAY DIVORCEE does break away from drawing room settings with a car chase and some brief street scenery. Somewhat dated today, the movie itself, taken from the hit play, THE GAY DIVORCE (1932), which also starred Astaire, with Erik Rhodes and Eric Blore reprising their roles, succeeds mainly because of the presence of Astaire and Rogers. Of the songs from the stage production, only Cole Porter's "Night and Day" remains.

The musical program to THE GAY DIVORCEE, with new music and lyrics by Mack Gordon and Harry Revel, Con Conrad and Herb Magidson, include: "Don't Let It Bother You" (sung by French chorus girls/ followed by a tap dance solo by Fred Astaire); "Looking for a Needle in a Haystack" (sung and danced by Astaire); "Let's Knock K-neez" (sung by Betty Grable and Edward Everett Horton); "Night and Day" (sung by Astaire/ danced by Astaire and Rogers); "The Continental" (sung by Ginger Rogers/ danced by Astaire and Rogers, and others); and "The Continental" (finale).

While some of the earlier songs are forgettable, with "Needle for a Haystack" inventing the Astaire character, "Night and Day" marks the first Astaire and Rogers dance on screen in its entirety. "The Continental," a lively song that would be the first Academy Award winning song, is lavishly produced, intertestingly choreographed (resembling "The Carioca" from FLYING DOWN TO RIO), it focuses more on the hundreds of hotel male and female guests dressed in black and white attire dancing through montage effects, with time out for singing by Erik Rhodes playing his constatina, and another, Lillian Miles, who appears, sings and is never seen or heard from again, before Astaire and Rogers take center stage as the crowd breaks up to let them go into their dance, ranging from doing "The Continental" in Spanish, Hungarian, Viennese and jazz dancing style before concluding.

Of the supporting players, Alice Brady comes off best with her amusing combination mixture of Margaret Dumont and Gracie Allen. She, like her counterpart, Edward Everett Horton, would become type-cast with such roles, but would soon end the decade by breaking away from such airheaded characters by playing serious pioneer women in two memorable dramas, IN OLD CHICAGO (1937) and YOUNG MR. LINCOLN (1939), both for 20th Century-Fox. Sadly, Brady's life was cut short when she died in 1939, leaving her legacy in other classic films, with this, being her only venture opposite Astaire and Rogers. Speaking of character actors, William Austin, who is seen briefly as Mimi's husband, Cyril, presents himself with almost the mannerisms as the latter day character actor of Billy DeWolfe. Eric Blore, playing the waiter, would have his share of comedic scenes with Horton, and would be teamed up again in other films as well, other than the ones starring Astaire and Rogers.

Of the ten musicals to feature Astaire and Rogers, THE GAY DIVORCEE, along with their later hit, TOP HAT (1935), were the most revived on local television from the 1960s (or earlier) to the mid 1980s, playing as much as four times a year. During that time, the RKO Radio logo was replaced with either another logo reading MOVIETIME or C&C TELEVISION. By the late 1970s, the RKO Radio tower to THE GAY DIVORCEE was not only restored during the opening, but the cast list of players in the end. Only in recent years when the movie was archively restored to a much clearer picture and sound track, by which were somewhat distorted when shown on American Movie Classics in the 1980s and 90s, only the closing cast list of actors and their roles have been eliminated in both newer video prints and presentations on Turner Classic Movies. Older video companies, ranging from Turner Home Entertainment or the now extinct Nostalgia Merchant, have the movie shown in its entirety, closing cast listing and all.

THE GAY DIVORCEE, which was one of the twelve feature films to be nominated for Best Picture of 1934, is vintage fun, highlighted by some good song and dance. But this is really a dress rehearsal for what was to follow within a few short years, for with each passing Astaire and Rogers film of the 1930s, they would greatly improve, reaching their peak in 1936. Even when their latter films were wearing thin, they never ceased to amaze in what they can do with their dancing feet.

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
No Not That Kind Of Gay - The Original Definition, 30 July 2000

Author: stang4 from Los Angeles

Of the nine Fred and Ginger movies, this is possibly the most charming. It is archetypal for the species -- boy meets girl, misunderstanding develops, misunderstanding resolves, boy gets girl. No villains to speak of, no blood. Lots of music and fun. The paper-thin plot makes it all the more fun. Nobody is taking anything seriously, everybody's in it for the good times. A rendition of "The Continental" is a very stylish song and dance number. A very young Betty Grable stops in for a quick vignette in "Let's Knock Knees". The Italian lothario, played by Erik Rhodes, is one of the funniest comic characters ever. Comedic standard character actors Edward Everett Horton and Eric Blore aren't far behind him. Even if you were in the mood for Reservoir Dogs, you won't be able to ignore the natural enthusiasm and love of life in this film.

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